Time Waits For No One
by Navangely
Summary: "The orange sheets hugged her slender form as if they wanted to shield her from any harm that might come her way. Naruto almost let out a bitter laugh. The harm was already there, in her body, poisoning her, eating her up alive." NaruHina. Angst with a hint of tragedy. Post-chapter 700.


_This fic was inspired by songs such as 'Illuminated' by Hurts (which is where the title is taken from), 'Uprising' by Muse and 'Waiting Games' by Banks. It's betaed by HerosReprise and halogens. Thanks, girls! _

_I don't own Naruto but he owns my heart ;)_

_Please enjoy! Reviews are appreciated and treasured._

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"Promise me that you're going to be alright."

He loved her hair. Her indigo locks reminded him of the waves of the sea, calm and lazy, but always with a purpose, strong, a force to reckon with when a storm raged on the horizon. They gave her an angelic look, covering her head with a dark halo, illuminated by the moon. He played with her hair when he kissed her, when she melted into his embrace trying to catch her breath after he made love to her, when he was waiting for her to wake up the morning after. His fingers caressed the silky locks when she told him that he was going to be the father of a baby boy. They fell from her shoulder like a waterfall when she sat on him, pinning him to the bed with her legs on either side of his hip, cupping his face in her tender hands, whispering "Himawari" as the name of their daughter who was soon going to bless them with her presence.

"You can't make me promise that."

He loved her eyes. Those eyes always looked at him with admiration, even when no one really saw him. They followed him when he was chased by the shadow of the fox. They gazed upon him and saw a saviour, not a loser. They showed him who he really was: a kind soul, a brave heart, a strong mind — a hero. He often lost himself in the lavender sea of her eyes because they told him a tale of a life full of hardships, pain, fear, disappointment, frustration, but also of a will of strength, a gentle spirit, sharp thoughts and a heart filled with love for her family, her friends, her comrades – for him. On their wedding day he vowed to her and himself that he would do everything in his power to make sure that those eyes would never shed any tears of sorrow, only joy.

He couldn't fulfil his vow.

"Naruto-kun…" Her voice broke at the end. A violent shudder ran through her body, making her cough. He cringed when he saw the red on her white tissue. "Please."

"No."

He loved her hands. They touched him to caress his skin, to pat his head, to massage his shoulders when his muscles were taut. They might have seemed small and delicate, but he knew they had seen bloodshed. He was never afraid when those hands were protecting him. He loved the feeling of her arms around his neck when he pressed her against the kitchen counter and planted butterfly kisses below her ear to the point where her fingers grabbed his hair and a soft moan escaped her lips.

"I know what you're playing at, Hinata. You can't use my nindō against me. Not now."

He loved her lips. They were rosy and beautiful and he loved stealing kisses from them. He lived for the sounds she made when he kissed her. She giggled when he kissed her on the nose, she smiled when he kissed her on the lips and she laughed when he kissed her on the stomach. She moaned when he pinned her to the wall, bringing a leg up in between hers, and bit the delicious skin on her neck. Every time he wanted to hear more of that wonderful sound, so he picked her up bridal style and ran to the bedroom. He put her down on the orange sheets decorated with their clan symbols, laid on top of her, careful not to crush her. He kissed her again on the neck and grinded against her, making both of them gasp.

"I can't leave you like this", she said.

"Then don't leave me."

He loved her voice. He remembered how it used to be barely above a whisper when they were kids. She would stutter, and often, he didn't catch what she had said. He didn't forget, though, that her voice never faltered during her battle with Pain or when she brought him back from the crushing hopelessness when Neji died. After the war he encouraged her to talk more, to speak her mind, to show people how much willpower, how many amazing qualities and great ideas she had – but also because he loved listening to her voice. It was music to his ears, his favourite melody. She could say his name in so many different ways – when she was flustered, when he made her laugh, when she blushed, when he stared at her, when she was scolding him for eating too much ramen, when he actually made her angry for endangering himself on a mission, when she told him that she loved him. She also knew what effect it had on him when she called him "Hokage-sama", so sometimes she said it in a way that made him want to take her right there and then.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be."

He loved her skin. It was pale, white like the snow that enwrapped the landscape in a soft hug. It was a gorgeous contrast to her midnight blue hair. He loved caressing her skin, causing her to shiver. She was so strong, yet he was her weakness. He could render her speechless with a single touch. Her skin was flawless like marble but he loved tainting it with marks when he made love to her. He was the artist and her body was his to paint.

"Harder than it has to be? I'm not the one who is making a mistake here, Hinata. I'm not the one giving up."

The moonlight kissed her on the cheek and for a second he forgot to breathe. She looked like a goddess descending from heaven to steal his sanity, for she already had his heart.

"You know I never give up."

The orange sheets hugged her slender form as if they wanted to shield her from any harm that might come her way. Naruto almost let out a bitter laugh. The harm was already there, in her body, poisoning her, eating her up alive.

"It sure sounds like that now, though." He knew his words caused her pain and he hated himself for it. But he couldn't shake her to make her see sense, so he remained seated on the chair next to their bed with arms folded before him, and he continued to stare at her with anger written all over his face.

She didn't say anything and he wished she would scream, shout, do anything to break the silence that made him feel as if he was buried under a thousand rocks. He thought he wasn't afraid of battles anymore, but now he was at war with his wife and that scared him more than anything.

She coughed and let out a sigh. He wanted to run from the room, run far away to hunt down the one who did this to his angel. They had to pay and they had to pay in blood.

"Naruto-kun…"

"Hinata, I'm begging you. Don't do this to me. Don't leave me because I can't live without you. I love you so much, it hurts here." He grabbed her hand and pushed it against his chest where his heart was beating erratically like a bird wanting to escape its cage. "I would do anything for you. I would die for you, a thousand times, if it meant you could live. I would sell my soul to the devil if it meant we could grow old together. I would go to the end of the world if it meant I could bring you back from the clutches of death. I would kill for you if it meant you could survive." He stared at her, unblinking, willing her to look away. She didn't. She brought her other hand up and touched his face gently.

"Naruto-kun… I used to always cry and give up. I nearly went the wrong way. But you… you showed me the right way. I was always chasing you… Wanting to overtake you… I just wanted to walk with you… I wanted to be with you… You changed me! Your smile saved me. So I'm not afraid to die protecting you! Because I love you, too."*

She smiled and for the second time that night, he forgot how to breathe. He felt like he was drowning and he desperately wanted to fill his lungs with air but he simply couldn't. His eyes grew bigger and his lips parted but no sound came out. He felt numb and blind until soft lips planted a feather-like kiss on his mouth.

Naruto had to give it to Hinata. She always did this, always brought him back from the edge. She was a mystery to him, a puzzle that he tried to solve but couldn't. They said he was the number one surprising ninja but they had no idea what a woman he lived with. She was sweet and petite but she had a will of iron behind the angelic smile.

"I will never give up," she said when they parted. She gently laid her hand on the nape of his neck and a delicious sensation ran down his spine. The waves of the sea in her lavender eyes had a force behind them resembling the fury of the storm after the calm.

"Never doubt that. I know Tsunade-sama and Sakura-san are working on the antidote and I have faith in them. But I'm not the little girl anymore who couldn't face the demons in this world. The poison those ninjas injected me with has a time limit and it's going to take my life when the sand stops flowing."

She pointed to the hourglass on the nightstand that Naruto wanted to smash with a Rasengan more than anything.

"I want you to know that if that happens, I want to leave you, Boruto, and Himawari with no regrets. Time may stop for me but it can't stop for you. You must go on. Time waits for no one, Naruto-kun. You have to make the best out of yours because that's your destiny. You won the war, saved the world and became Hokage. But we both know you are still full of surprises."

Her gentle smile hurt him, but it was as if the sun suddenly started shining in the middle of the night, breaking the rule of the moon.

"I will never give up. My body is fighting the poison with everything I have. But if that's not enough, I'll die in peace, with no regrets, knowing that you'll never give up, either. Am I right, Naruto-kun?"

His heart missed a beat and the world came to a halt. He didn't fight the silence and it defeated him in a second. He imagined a life without light, a life without her and all he could see was the devil winking at him from his throne in hell. Then she blinked and the world took a step forward. A memory of Boruto holding Himawari's hand as they stood in front of the building of the Academy appeared in his mind. Warmth spread in his body, chasing away the icy cold in his veins and he felt a smile tug at his lips. He knew what he had to do.

"You are the woman of my dreams," he said while his hand found its way to her hair. He wrapped her indigo locks around his fingers and let out a sigh.

"When I fell in love with you, I felt like I could do anything with you by my side. When you gave birth to Boruto, I swore to protect him at all costs. When I first held Himawari in my arms, she became my princess whom I would guard forever."

Naruto kissed Hinata on the nose and touched his forehead to hers.

"I will always love you. Even if you are in Heaven and I'm still down here, I'll love you. I'll love you until I take my last breath and beyond that. I'll love you until the stars burn out." She shivered. He kissed her on the mouth.

He kissed her as if the world was ending and she kissed him back like a warrior fighting for her life. Silvery tears were running down their faces with the same ferocity of cascading waterfalls flowing down mountains. His arms embraced her and he never let her go.

He had won the battle but he hadn't won the war. Death still wanted her and she still wanted his promise. But now he knew what he never should have doubted in the first place: she hadn't given up. And she never would.

And for tonight, that was enough.

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_*Taken from chapter 437 of the Naruto manga with a slight change._


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